Emerald Soulstice
by KBar33
Summary: Brendan Birch has just moved to the Hoenn Region with his family to rekindle the family bond. As Brendan does his best to adjust to his new life in paradise, another boy of similar age will cross his path and change his life forever. The two will grow fond of each other, much to their parents dismay, and together they'll discover true love and what it takes to defend it.
1. Chapter 1: Shatter

**\- Emerald Soulstice -**

 **By: KBar33**

"You are my sun, moon, and stars..."

Author's Note:

This story is a projection of my own life, a mirror of the difficulties and challenges I had to go through in my personal life. What I hope to achieve by making this story is helping at least one person who reads this to find some sense of solace in my work. I am dedicating this story to all of my fellow members of the LGBTQ community who struggle everyday to come to grips with who they truly are.

Trying to find out my own identity was a struggle, as it is for anyone who had to tackle the relentlessly tiresome and cumbersome task of sorting out these feelings inside you that many in this world would ridicule you for, or in other parts of the world; kill you for. It is a nonstop internalized battle of rationalization and depression and often times a strong sense of inadequacy. It's not easy to deal with all this at a young age, and it especially was for me not having anybody to talk to about it with. I had to research and find out the necessary information on my own, and one thing I found hope and comfort in was stories such as these with LGBTQ characters.

They took me away to a place where I can relate to something, where I can gain insight and wisdom from, where I can finally feel a sense of belonging. The problem is that finding these stories are few and far between. The ones available are either incomplete or so highly sexualized that the reader derives zero sense of growth or substantive thought after reading it. The sex has a time and place, but the story I wish to create doesn't focus on that. I wish to create a story where the characters grow together and learn from each other and go through struggles together, and even hate each other sometimes oddly enough. But most importantly; I want to help somebody realize that love is love, and that you are beautiful the way you are. I created this story and I invite you to invest yourself in it as I have. I want to show you a story of love, of life, of laughter, and of treachery. A story of heartache, and heartbreak. Of smooth-sailing, and troubled waters. And most importantly; I want to create a story that our community can be #Proud of... :)

 _Also be aware that the story is far from canon and may not be 100% accurate and faithful to the story's plotline. Changes in the plot, both major and minor, are likely intentional and are not meant to accurately represent any canon plotline, but rather to enhance and convey my own artistic expression and vision. :)_

 **Chapter 1: Shatter**

 _"A novus dies_

 _amicus meus vivat_

 _videre potest"_

The time in Sunyshore City is exactly 6:00 am, yet the entire city is vibrant and full of determined citizens en route to their jobs and duties. The solar panel roads are glimmering as the light dances about on the surface of the panels as if they are putting on a luminous performance of Swan Lake. The atmosphere is vibrant and energetic, yet, there is still a sense of peace and order about the city. This life that the citizens are living is one that they are used to and have come to love. They enjoy the hustle and bustle of city life so much that it brings a unique sense of calm and stability in an otherwise unstable and frantic atmosphere. In a lone house lives a family whose lives are unstable and frantic, but not in the way that the rest of the citizens lives are unstable and frantic. In this family lives a boy named Brendan Birch who lives with his mother and brother. They may sound like a normal family but their lives are far from regular and mundane, and for Brendan; nothing was ever the same.

Brendan wakes up to his alarm just like every morning. He climbs out of bed and puts on his pants and brushes his teeth just like every morning. He eats his breakfast and makes his bed just like every morning. However, unlike every morning; he is preparing to enter a completely different life. He opens the door and walks into the living room as his mother says "Good morning Bren! Do you have everything packed and ready to go?" To which he replies with "Yes mom, for the umpteenth time I packed it all last night." "I don't need the sass right now kid, I was just asking to make sure." He responds with "I know, I just hate waking up early is all." "Wow, I bet life is misery for you Bren isn't it?" To which he simply chuckles and sits down at the table in front of his breakfast. The Birches are purchasing a home in the Hoenn region in Verdanturf Town in an attempt to strengthen the family unity that has been shaky and turbulent for the past few years after Brendan's father moved and became the Hoenn region's pokemon professor. His mother was a vendor in the Sunyshore Market for years until getting injured in an accident in which a customer's Tauros got spooked by a Bidoof's sneaze that turned into an echoed voice. This in turn caused the Tauros to go wild and ram right into the booth that Brendan's mother would work at. His brother is 11 years old, making him only 3 years younger than Brendan. The two brothers had a lot of fun together running around the city and simply enjoying the carefree lifestyle of being a kid. They would ride their bikes around the city, have pretend pokemon battles with each other, explore the surrounding routes with the help and protection of a neighbor who had been a trainer for years. as you can already guess, this lifestyle they had grown accustomed to is about to turn on it's head.

The time is exactly 9:00 am, the family's belongings were all packed up and being shipped out to their new home in the Hoenn region. They are entering the plane when Brendan suddenly stops walking. He turns around and looks at the Sinnoh region, the place he called home his entire life, for the final time and takes in the gorgeous sunrise. He ponders and reminisces about the wonderful memories he made, the friends he's leaving behind, and the life he loved to live; it was all too much for him to handle, and so he began to sob. He bawled and bellowed, clutching his hurting heart as streams of tears flowed down his face. He felt the weight of the world weighing down on him, his feet were unable to move. He had gone completely numb, the very thought of possibly never returning weighed heavily on his mind. After being comforted by his mother and brother, Brendan picks himself up and they finally enter the plane and take their seats. Brendan looks out the window of the plane and does his best to suppress the anguish and heartbreak that he had welling up inside his chest. He began to feel the pain and sadness become more and more numb, until he finally came to grips with the reality of the situation. He finally accepted it and did his best to fall asleep, they did have a 7 hour flight after all. He felt the pain of leaving everything behind, but tried his hardest to look forward to the new life he had in store. Unbeknown to Brendan, he is going to go through the lowest depths of despair and the most joyous heights of bliss. He will begin a journey to become the best there ever was, he will meet people from many walks of life, he will come toe-to-toe with the most dangerous people in the world, but above all else; he will discover his first true love. He will experience the true nirvana-esque feeling of love, and the heartbreak that comes along with defending and protecting it. He will discover something so profoundly beautiful that he is willing to lost everything to protect it. The true love and passion between two people, two rejects; two beautiful losers will kindle a fire that burns brighter than a thousand suns, and thus creating; an Emerald Soulstice.


	2. Chapter 2: Adapt

**Chapter 2: Adapt**

 _"Vita bona est_

 _emhuius rei publicae_

 _emmemento semper."_

"The time is exactly 5:30 PM, the Birch family has finally touched down in Lilycove City. Brendan unbuckles his seat belt and does a great big stretch before standing up and reaching in the overhead cabin to get his carry-on bag. He walks down the aisle and turns the corner towards the door, once he steps through the doorway he is greeted by the bright Hoenn sun and humid breeze. He looks around and sees Wingull and Pelipper circling around in the sky. He sees far off in the distance a great big rocket ship and a huge department store. The temperature is around 82 degrees fahrenheit with slight overcast, it's an absolutely beautiful day in the Hoenn region in every sense of the word. Brendan feels a bit more at ease knowing that Hoenn is going to be a very beautiful and lively place to live. Though, his heart is still heavy from leaving behind his old life. The family finally steps off the plane and boards the S.S. Tidal Ferry bound for Slateport City.

"Upon landing in Slateport City the family is greeted by a Tropius and a Flygon. "What are these Pokemon?!" exclaims Caroline (Brendan's mother). "I think that's a Flygon!" Exclaims Max (Brendan's Brother). "I think you're right Max! I dont know about the other one though." Says Brendan, "But why are they here? Do you think they're attacking us!?" "No Bren, if they wanted to attack us they wouldn't done it by now or at the very least have a nasty look on their faces." Caroline reassures her children. "But check it out! There's a note attached to the Flygon." Caroline slowly approaches the dragon pokemon, the Flygon grabs the note and hands it to Caroline. "Thanks Flygon!" "Flyyyy." Excitedly exclaims the pokemon. The note reads, em"Dear Caroline, I hope that you and the kids made it to Slateport City in one piece. I'm so excited to finally see you guys again. As you can see, standing in front of you is a Flygon and a Tropius, these are both species of Pokemon native to the Hoenn region that I have as assistants back at the lab. The pokemon will take you to my lab in Littleroot Town, which is where I am right now. Safe travels. Love, Edward Birch." /emCaroline turns to Brendan and Max and says "Alrighty boys, hop on the Flygon!" To which the two boys eagerly jumped aboard the Dragon Pokemon, they were so excited to see what the Hoenn region looked like atop one of it's very own elusive Dragon Types. The two Pokemon jump straight into the air with a great leap and begin to soar. They finally begin to fly straight ahead towards Littleroot, and Brendan looks down at all of Hoenn in complete awe. He looks below and sees miles upon miles of beautiful lush green trees, miles of fantastically blue water and a massive volcano. He looks to the right and sees a Pelipper, "Kaaa-aa" shouts the Pelipper. Brendan waves back at it and continues to look around in complete amazement. The Tropius and Flygon fly for about 5-10 more minutes before descending down towards Littleroot Town.

"After the two pokemon land they let out an enormous cry to let professor Birch know they're home. Brendan and Max both cover their ears and wince in pain, meanwhile Caroline who is hard of hearing didn't feel an ounce of pain. "What the hell was that?" She calmly asks. "HOW DID YOU NOT HEAR THAT." Max retorts in anger, to which Caroline simply pointed to her ears and made a shrugging gesture just to push Max's buttons. "WELCOMMMMEEEEEEEE TOOOOOOOO THE HOENNNNNNN REGIOONNNNNNNNN!" shouts Professor Birch. "SHEESH DAD CALM DOWN!" Shouts Brendan with frustration, "Who said that?" Caroline rhetorically inquires. "MOM HOW CAN YOUR EAR DRUMS NOT COMBUST AFTER HEARING THAT?!" "Because I know it frustrates you, honestly Max you gotta let the temper ease up a little bit." She smugly retorts to Max, who's face is redder than a shiny Gyarados. "Anyways it's so good to see you guys again! I've missed you so much! BRENDAN AND MAX! You guys managed to ride that Flygon by yourselves?!" "Yes. We did." Replies the two in unison. "WOW. Well you two really pulled it off with aplomb!" Professor Birch is a very loud man; as you can tell. "Well come on inside you guys, the movers won't have our stuff in the house for another three hours so make yourselves comfortable!" The family all walks into the Pokemon Research Lab, together, for the first time in many months.

"Professor Birch is so enthused to see his family again after taking a long break away to focus on researching native Hoenn Pokemon and establishing himself both professionally and personally before moving his family out. He explains to his family about the culture and tradition and all of the various different things about the Hoenn region that make it so unique and special. He shows the kids a pokedex that is filled up a quarter of the way and explains to them the different things about their biology and eating habits and moves and other types of data. Brendan is paying attention and is absolutely enthralled in everything his father had to say about Pokemon, and Max is interested as well but knows he still has years to go before training his own Pokemon. Brendan is so excited to learn about all of the different kinds of Pokemon and finally, he isn't thinking about Sinnoh or his old life. He for once, is excited to be in the Hoenn region. Caroline looks over at her sons and their father bonding so well and can't help but shed a tear or two at the sight of it. Everything she had hoped would happen was happening right before her eyes. She is filled with happiness and hope that their family is on the track to a full recovery. She wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hours go by and Caroline finally gets a pokegear call from the moving company. Their stuff has been moved into the new house and they are ready to move in whenever they want. "Okay dear, just give me a call when you are done working at the lab so you can come home." Says Caroline, "Okay honey, I'll make sure to do that. SAFE TRAVELS YOU GUYS!" Booms the professor, "Holy shit dad calm down!" exclaims Brendan " What the hell did you just say dumbass?!" scolds Caroline, "I'm sorry Mom, I just got caught in the moment." "You better be sorry. Shitbrain, you still have cartoons on your damn underwear, you're too young to cuss." Caroline smugly retorts. "NO I DON'T!" Brendan fires back. "I wash your clothes dumbass." Caroline playfully laughs while Brendan blushes and hides his face. "Alrighty enough talk boys lets go home." "Amen to that!" Shouts Max. And like that, the family hops aboard the Tropius and Flygon and take off towards their home and settle in for their first night home, in the Hoenn Region.


	3. Chapter 3: Anew

**Chapter 3: Anew**

 _"Voltus deinceps_  
 _"emnotam novum in dies_  
 _"emet vene vivunt."_

"It has been exactly two months ever since the Birches have moved into their new home in Verdanturf Town, and life couldn't be any better for the family. Caroline has began working again as a vendor in Mauville City at the Mauville Food Court. Professor Birch has become spent more time with his children and often takes them into the wild for field work. Brendan and Max have both enjoyed spending more time with their father, but also spending time with the Pokemon. Brendan is 14 years old and has been able to get a pokemon for years now, yet hasn't bothered to bite the bullet and begin a journey. This much to the dismay of his father, but Brendan was determined to change all that. He wanted to really start fresh in Hoenn, and the best way to do that is to begin a grand quest of his own, with his own Pokemon. And thus, Brendan rode the lab assistant Flygon all the way to Littleroot Town to get his very own pokemon.

Five minutes pass by and Flygon begins its descent downwards to Littleroot. Upon landing Brendan swings the door open and shouts,

"DAD! I WANT TO GET A POKEMON!" To which he recieved no response. He looks around and notices that nobody except an intern is at the lab. So Brendan poses to the intern,

"Hey, do you know where my dad is?"

"Yeah, uhh-I uhh, think he's out-uhhh in the wild, doing-uhhh field work." Utters the nervous intern who's only been working there for a few days.

"Uhhh, okayyy, thanks." Brendan says as he walks out of the door, "What the hell's this guy's damage." Brendan then presses onward to Route 101 in search of his father. He makes his way down the trail as he calls out his dad's name, all to no responses. He begins to worry and walks faster trying to cover more ground until all of a sudden he hears, "HELP!" Brendan makes a bee-line over to the scene of the scream to find his father backed down by a wild Poochyena. "BRENDAN! PLEASE! HELP! IN MY BAG! THERE"S A POKEBALL!" Brendan quickly reaches into the bag and selects the first one he sees,

"Go Pokeball!" He throws the ball with gusto, and the pokeball opens with a beam of light emerging from it. The light then begins to take form into a pokemon.

"Torrrrrrrrr-Chic!" Cries the pokemon that emerged from the pokeball.

"GO ON! GIVE IT A COMMAND!" Shouts Professor Birch with panic in his voice.

"Ahh crap I dont know any moves!" Brendan despreately tries to think of a command. "OHH I GOT ONE!" He remembers watching Professor Birch instruct a young trainer on basic fire type moves after receving a Torchic a few weeks back.

"Torchic, use Ember!" Shouts Brendan, the Torchic looks up at the boy standing beside it and sees the determination and composure he displays while giving a command. Torchic notices and respects this and decides to loan this child the power he desires.

"Torrrrr-Chiiiiccccc" A cluster of fire balls shoot towards the Poochyena with great speed.

"Poooooochhhh." The Poochyena is directly hit by the ember and launches into a bite attack. Brendan commands,

"Torchic, dodge it and use Ember again!" Torchic swiftly dodges the bite and combos with Ember.

"Torrrrr-Chicccc!" It is a direct hit and the Poochyena had taken a considerable amount of damage and had enough. The wild Poochyena desperately flees into the tall grass.

"Whew… I was in the tall grass studying wild Pokemon when I was jumped. You saved me. Thanks a lot!" Professor Birch's lab coat is tattered and covered it dirt and scratch marks. "You really carried yourself well in battle Brendan, I'm pretty damn impressed actually. You really pulled it off with aplomb!" The professor had a beaming smile from how happy and proud he was that Brendan battled with a Pokemon, and in such a confident fashion. "You really are a natural Brendan. Would you like to keep that Torchic?" The professor posed to Brendan.

"Keep it?" Brendan asked with shock.

"Yes, Brendan. I assume that's why you went out of your way to come to the lab on your own accord and went searching for me, correct?"

"Oh. Yeah..." Brendan was so focused on saving his father that he had completely forgotten about getting his first Pokemon.

"Welp Brendan, that Torchic right ther; he's all yours!" Professor Birch proclaimed with a smile on his face.

"ALRIGHT!" Brendan was so enthusiastic about finally receiving his own Pokemon partner to start his very own journey with. The very thought of travelling around the Hoenn region with his own partner discovering amazing places and people was too exciting to bear. He looked down at the Pokeball that he clutched in his left hand and squeezed it. It was his very own partner, and he was determined to make him strong and experience the beauty that the world has to offer.

"You should bring him out so that he can get used to you!" Proposed the professor.

"Good idea. Alrighty, Torchic, I choose you!" *Throws Pokeball*

"Torrrr-Chic!" The small chick looked around ready for battle but instead saw a boy standing above him with admiration in his eyes. "Torrrr?" Torchic looked at him with a puzzled look, Brendan then kneels down to talk to him.

"Hey Torchic, my name is Brendan and Im from Sunyshore City."

"Torrr?" Torchic is still unsure about the strange new boy standing before him, he's unsure of he's willing to trust him.

"I'm 14 years old, which is a bit old for a brand new trainer I know, but I'm gonna try my best!" Torchic is listening intently to what Brendan is saying. "My favorite food is Pizza, especially Pepperoni! Idk if you like pineapple, but it does NOT belong on pizza in my opinion. Umm, lets see...OH! I also really like watching pokemon contests, I know boys shouldn't like them and all that but I dont care! I love them! I also like..." Brendan goes on and on explaining as much as he can to his brand new partner trying to gain his trust. "Lets see, I also really enjoy going for a swim every once in a while too! I think my fastest record wa-"

"Torrrrr!" Torchic let out a huge cry as he leaped into Brendan's arms. Brendan catches him and chuckles when Torchic proceeds to nuzzle Brendan's cheek.

"Does this mean you'll be my partner then Torchic?" He posed to the fire type chick.

"Torr-chic!" He nods his head and nuzzles with Brendan once again. Professor Birch is watching all of this with a few tears of pride in his son and easy it was for his boy to make a strong bond with a Pokemon he had just met ten minutes ago. He could feel the intense trust and love that the Torchic had already garnered for Brendan from just the few interactions they've had. He knew that Brendan was going to make a very fine trainer, perhaps even worthy of becoming the champion if he strengthens the bond with his Pokemon that he is capable of developing.

"Alrighty Brendan! LETS HEAD HOMEEE!" The Professor bellows out from the bottom of his gut.

"Sheesh does he ever realize how loud he is?" Brendan rhetorically asks Torchic.

"Tor." He shakes his head no.

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." And thus Brendan and Torchic follow the Professor back to the lab.

"Brendan, it makes me uniquely proud and honored that I am able to bestow upon you your very own Pokemon simultaneously as the Hoenn region's Pokemon Professor, and as your father. But be aware Brendan, the road of a Pokemon Trainer is no walk in the park. True, you and your partner will have an experience together that is rivaled by none other. However, you are Torchic's trainer and are responsible for him. He will grant you power and battle and you will grant your leadership and care in return. When he is ill or damaged you must heal him immediately, no exceptions. You two must always have each other's backs as the world can be a ver dangerous and cruel place; so always look out for one another, no exceptions. Leave petty squabble to immature children, you two are connected in a unique and beautiful way, do not let the fire of your tounge or actions burn the flesh of one Hoenn region is far too beautiful and immense to be caught up in petty argumentation, no exceptions. And finally, report back to me and Mom time and time again," the professor's voice began to break, "you are our child and we are trusting you to travel this region without us by your side. We raised you and cared for you for your entire 14 year life." Tears began welling up in both Brendan's and Birch's eyes. "We love you so much and will miss you dearly so the least you can do is talk to us every once in a while. Luckily for me, I am a Pokemon researcher who is all over the region every day so you'll be able to see me somewhat often, though you'll still mostly be by yourself with your partner. So check in with us, no exceptions. Any questions?" Asked Professor Birch who is crying tears of sorrow and joy that his own child was about to leave his care. Brendan too is crying, he was so ready to just get out of the house and begin journeying that he had forgotten how much he'd miss home.

"No questions here *sniff* Dad." Brendan's already pubescent voice was breaking even more so then usual eliciting a laugh from his father.

"Bwahahaha, I cant believe my boy is already so grown up now. Even if he does sound like a broken build-a-bear with a squeaky voice box."

"SHUT IT DAD! MY VOICE ISN'T THAT *break* SQUEAKY!" The professor and Brendan both laugh uncontrollably at the situation. Professor Birch had just gotten used to connecting with his family again after a long time of not even living with them at all. He had focused on work so that he could work on himself and support his family in the Hoenn region, and yet it was his very own work that would send his son away from him once again. He was torn between pride and grief. he loved and hated that he was able to give Brendan his own Pokemon. He truly loves Pokemon, and loves his son even more. He was thrilled that he could pair his two most favorite things in the world, his family and Pokemon, together. It was beautiful, and depressing to him at the same time, but he ignored his paternal desire to care for his son's every need, and decided in the end that he has to let his children have their own experiences and let them fly out of the nest one day. He knew it would be hard at first to accept, but that as long as he loves and cares for Torchic that the two would become immensely powerful both in battling prowess and bond, and that gave him comfort.

Brendan went back home to Verdanturf Town and began to pack his bags for the long journey ahead of him. He laid out all of the items he needed. "Alrighty let's see...pokegear fully charged, map, running shoes..." Torchic began searching Brendan's room and opened up his closet and pulled something out of the drawers. "T shirts, capris, shorts, jackets, pants, socks..." Torchic then hops onto Brendan's bed with an article of clothing in it's beak.

"Torrrrr!" Torchic chirps at Brendan after setting down Brendan's clothes. He looks down and see what Torchic brought and his cheeks blush bright red.

"HEY! DONT MESS WITH THAT!" Torchic had brought out a pair of Brendan's underwear that he was so embarrassed about, to which Torchic snickers and chuckles.

"Give me a break Torchic! They still fit and mom never took me shopping to get new ones!" He shouts with a sheepish expression, "But I'm kinda glad you brought it though I almost forgot, so umm, tha-thanks I-uhhh guess." With all of his things packed up Brendan was all set to leave on his grand journey that he had been so eager about. The whole family was lined up outside of the house and setting Brendan off on his journey.

"I love you so much Bren... *sniffle* Please take care of yourself!" Caroline says to Brendan while clutching him in her arms tightly.

"I will momma, I promise I will. I have Torchic after all. Just wait! I'm going to be super strong one day, just wait and see!" Brendan reassures his mother, and now he had to say goodbye to Max which was especially hard.

"JUST GO BRENDAN PLEASEE! JUST GOOO!" Yells Max who is completely torn by losing his only true friend and playmate, he is gonna miss all of the amazing times that the two had together. The brotherly antics that they indulged in, were soon a thing of the past and Max wasn't ready for that. He didn't know how to react and so he is shattered. So Brendan does his best to comfort him.

"Max! That's no way to send off your brother! Don't be selfish act like a brat! Brendan has to go and have his own experie..."

"It's ok mom, really it's fine. Brendan says to Caroline. "I know you hate me right now, and I probably would too if our roles were switched. I know it sucks that you can't come with me, but you gotta look after Mom and Dad though right?"

"DON"T PATRONIZE ME BREN, DAD'S TRAINED POKEMON FOR YEARS. HE DOESN'T NEED My PROTECTION! JUST LEAVE!" Max is now sobbing uncontrollably.

"Alrighty then, I know you won't forgive me for a while, and that's alright Max. But above everything else, just hear me out on this. I promise that when I come back, that I'll be a strong brother and trainer that you can really look up to. I promise that to you Max."

"Whatever. *sniffle-sniff* I don't want to talk to you." Max mutters between sniffles. Brendan knew he said what he needed to say, to Max, to Mom, and to Dad. And so he looks at his family and his home for the last time and says,

"I love you guys so much. I'm gonna make you proud!" As he turns around and runs off into the Hoenn sunset with tears flowing from his eyes he waves to the people behind him and looks one last time and his loved ones, and turns back around looking in front of him. But what exactly was in front of him? What exactly was so important that he turns around on his family? What was so important that he had to get his own partner Pokemon; what was it that he needed to go and see? Well, the answer to that he was going to find out. He didn't know at all what he was looking for. He told himself it was to be the champion or to befriend all Pokemon. However, deep down, he genuinely had no clue. He was in it for the journey and the discovery, not knowing what lies around every corner and discovering things that are so beautiful that are worth leaving home over. And soon, Brendan would soon come face-to-face with the very thing that was so important that he needed to leave home for. The date is June 20th, however, tomorrow is June 21st. Also known as; the summer solstice.


	4. Chapter 4: Union

**Chapter 4: Union**

 _"Hic duos mundos_

 _"emquod aulaei juncturae_

 _"emquae/emem in ea ventura."_

The time is 7:30 am on June 21st, when the sun reaches it's highest point in the sky at 12:00 PM, it will be the summer solstice. Today is the day that will alter Brendan's life in a way he couldn't have ever imagined. The morning sun is rising and filling the environment with a soft orange hue. Wingulls are squaking off in the distance and the wind is calm providing a pleasant and gentle breeze. Brendan begins to awaken and opens his eyes to take a look at his surroundings. At first his back is completely in a knot from having to sleep on the side of a tree (due to lack of funds to pay for lodging). He gets up and stretches, once he finally realizes where he's at it all finally hit him; he's by himself on his own adventure. He has no parents to be accounted by, nobody to tell him when to get up and when to go to sleep, he has complete control of his life. He looks up at the beautiful red-orange Hoenn sky and his entire body wells up with a sense of euphoria, it was finally the day where he could begin anew.

"The pokeball in his messenger bag begins to violently shake and trash around make to Brendan's surprise. The capsule suddenly opens,

""Torrrrrrr-Chiccccc!" Torchic shrieks and spews out dozens of fire balls into the air.

"AHHHH!" Brendan is completely caught off guard, he then yells, "Torchic! Torchic! TORCHIC!" Which finally caught the fire bird's attention. "You're fine Torchic! What the hell is wrong Torchic?!" He looks at Brendan for a second and then leaps into his arms. "Woahhh! What's wrong buddy?" Torchic has tears streaming from his eyes and whimpers.

"tor..."

"Did you have a nightmare or something?" Torchic simply nods and remains in his arms. "It's alright buddy, we all get those ever once in a while." He stands there with the Torchic for a few minutes and wonders what was it that freaked him out so badly. Was there something about Torchic's past that he doesn't know about? Regardless after a few minutes he leaps out of Brendan's arms and shakes himself off.

"Torrrrr-Chiccc!" He cries out with determination in his eyes.

"You ready to head out Torchic!"

"Torrrr!"

"Let's do this!" Brendan packs up his belongings and the two set out on their journey to discovery. They continue walking along Route 1 but almost immediately make their way to Oldale Town. They take a look around at the place with wonder and amazement, despite the rather 'humble' environment of the town. Quite simply they were simply amazed to have made it to a brand new location. They walk for a few steps and are greeted by an older lady wearing a blue apron.

"Hello there young man, are you a new trainer by any chance?"

"Yes ma'am I am." Brendan replied cordially.

"Well then let me show you a few things then, come along now."Brendan and Torchic agreed and followed the lady to a building with a blue roof. "This here building is what you may call a PokeMart, inside are a multitude of different items for all residents in the towns and cities here, but trainers may simply go up to the clerk and request trainer related items such as pokeballs, potions, repels, x-items, you name it and we got it. Now come along this way." They once again, agree and follow the lady to another building, this one with a red roof. "This here is what you may call a Pokemon Center, this will be very crucial in keeping your Pokemon healthy so pay attention." Brendan focused in onto what she was saying with extra acuteness. "Whenever your Pokemon is at low health or has a status condition, simply take your Pokemon to Nurse Joy and she'll heal them right up for you. Simple enough?"

"Yes maam, I feel like I have a good understanding of all of that."

"Alrighty young man, then that'll be it for my help. If ya need anything then I'm just a stone throw away in the..." She looks at Brendan for a reponse.

"Pokemart?..."

"Bingo! You catch on quickly. Bye bye now!" Brendan waves back as the sweet old lady returns inside of the PokeMart.

"Well that was nice of her to help us like that, don't ya think?"

"Torrrrr-chic." He says while agreeingly nodding his head.

"Ok, so is there anything to do here? Where do we go next?" Brendan was puzzled and confused as to what his next course of action was to be, he looked around the town seeing what there was to see, much to no avail. Oldale Town is a very calm and tranquil place, mainly reserved for people in the latter parts of their lives looking for a simple way of living. Brendan sat down at a bench wondering what to do, until his Pokegear began to ring, he picks up.

"Hello?"

 _"BRENDAN!"_

"Holy crap dad! I'm right here! You don't have to yell all the time!"

 _"Sorry Brendan! How are you holding up?"_

"I'm fine, I just don't really know what to do? I mean I just kind of took off on a journey with nothing really in mind."

 _"Yeahhhh, you kinda did there pal. I'll tell you what, there is something for you to do that'll certainly be of motivation to you."_

"What is it?"

 _"Challenging the Pokemon League."_

"The Pokemon League?!"

 _"Yes. I truly do believe that you have that unique potential within you Brendan. If you fervently dedicate yourself to it, I believe that your bond with your Pokemon combined with work ethic will carry you all the way to the champion's chamber and eventually the hall of fame."_

"You really think I can do that?"

 _"Of course I do son."_

"Wow, the Pokemon League ehh? I'm in. What about you Torchic?"

"Torrrrrr-Chicccccc!"

"Alright, then it's settled I'll challenge the Pokemon League! Lemme at em'! How do I get there?!"

 _"You'll get slaughtered kid."_

"You just said that you believed in me!"

 _"I do Brendan, just in due time. Those people have been with their Pokemon for years upon years now refining their battle strategies and strengthening their bonds with their Pokemon and have become the most powerful trainers in not only in all of Hoenn, but in the entire world. They have dedicated their entire lives to battling, whereas you literally got a Pokemon yesterday. You gotta chill out Brendan."_

"Okay okay, but how do I even get to that point though? Where do I start?"

 _"The way to get to the Pokemon League is to take the Official Gym Challenge."_

"Gym Challenge?"

 _"Yes, across the region in eight different places are trainers who run Pokemon Gyms. If you battle your way through the gym trainers and defeat the Gym Leader in battle you will earn a badge. If you earn all eight gym badges in the region then you will be eligible to challenge the Pokemon League which consists of the Elite Four, and then the strongest trainer in the region; The Hoenn Region Champion."_

"Man, that sounds like it'll take a while."

 _"Yes it will, are you sure you're up for the task son? It's not for the faint of heart. Your ability in combat will be tested, but not only that, your mental fortitude, work ethic, morals, and determination will be tested. That is the path of a Pokemon Trainer, I just want to make sure you're willing to walk it."_

"I'm gonna do it dad, I'm gonna take them on and become the Champion. I want to fight alongside Torchic and conquer these gyms and prove to you and Mom and Max that I'm strong."

 _"That's what I like to hear son, well I have to get back to field work. You said you were in Oldale Town?"_

"Yeah, Oldale Town."

 _"Okay, from there you're just gonna head over West from there and you'll find yourself in Petalburg City. There's a gym leader there that goes by the name of Norman. Go ahead and ask him for directions to Rustboro City and that I sent ya. He's a good buddy of mine and he's been wondering about if you'd ever be a trainer so he'd love to talk to you."_

"Okay Dad, but why don't I just challenge him? Isn't he a gym leader?"

 _"Because you'd get creamed Brendan, he's the fifth Gym Leader on the official list anyways, he's used to a higher caliber of trainers that challenge him anyways. You technically could, but it would be a waste of time and would only serve to injure your Torchic."_

"Okayyyy, I'll make sure just to talk to him then."

 _"Haha alrighty son, I love ya. Talk to ya later!"_

"Okay, bye Dad!" *Beep* With that Brendan had finally figured out what it was that he wanted to strive for. He had something to achieve and something to prove, especially to Max. He really liked the idea of returning home to his little brother as the Champion of the region. With newfound vigor he went to the Pokemart and stocked up on Pokeballs and potions with the amount of money that his parents gave him to start on his journey. After that, he took a last look at Oldale Town and began walking through Route 102.

The day still had yet to fully begin as it was only 9:30 in the morning. The thought of still having the entire rest of the day excited him, there was still so much to discover, he had just barely scratched the surface. He continued walking along the path for a good five minutes and found himself fairly deep into the woods. He kept on without interruption until he noticed a shaking in the bushes, naturally startled Torchic assumed a battle position ready to strike. Brendan held his breathe and waited for something to strike first, and he waited. Nothing, and still nothing. He was still suspicious about the bush but he went against his better judgement and crept up to the bush to see what was behind it. He got closer and closer until he was about a meter away from the bush, but he heard something, it was a bit faint but regardless he heard something. He listened closely and heard someone or something panting, as he got closer it got louder and he began to see over the brush and started to see something black, it wasn't fur but rather it was hair. He then finally looked completely looked over the fence and saw that it was actually a boy with scrape marks all over his body. He was laying there motionless except for his chest which was rising rapidly from heavy breathing. This scared Brendan so he began questioning,

"Hello!? Are you alright?! Can you hear me?!" To no response, "Please please just say something!"

"H-he-help...please..." the boy muttered.

"Okay good, he's conscious at least." He looked into his bright blue eyes and saw that they were following his, he checked his pulse and felt that it was a bit rapid. Brendan knew that he needed to get him to a hospital soon. He wasn't in critical condition, but he knew that he was definitely in pain.

"Okay, do you know how far Petalburg City is from here?"

"Ab-about f-fi-five m-mminutess."

"Okay, I'm gonna make that three. I'm gonna get you out of here safe. Just try your best to relax and stay calm." Brendan instructed the boy to remain calm meanwhile he himself was terrified as well. He had recieved some basic first aid from his father and so he was able to feel a bit more at ease during this situation. And so Brendan picked him up and began to run towards the direction of Petalburg City. But as Brendan started running he noticed a Pokeball on the ground, Brendan then instructed,

"Torchic! I need you to get that pokeball!"

"Torrrrr!" He immediately run over to the pokeball to try and take it to Petalburg. However, a problem arose; Torchic's wings are so small they might as well not be there in the first place.

"Torrrrrr,-Chicc, torrrr!" He was baffled at how he was going to move this pokeball, after thinking he finally just decided to move it with his head all the way into town. Meanwhile, Brendan was racing into town as fast as he could to try and get his wounds healed. He wondered, 'What happened to him?' 'Why did it happen?' 'Will he be okay?' but he did his best to simply focus on the task at hand and get him to a hospital.

After a few minutes of running Brendan finally made his way into Petalburg City and make's his way to the hospital. He rushes into the main entrance and shouts,

"Help! Help please! He's hurt he's hurt!" A nurse rushes up to Brendan.

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know! I was walking along Route 102 when I found him like this in the bushes by himself!"

"Okay, We'll talk care of him, I'll have a nurse take you to a patient waiting room. Thanks for your help, we'll take it from here, you just try to relax."

"Okay, please just heal him!"

"we'll do our absolute best." With that, the nurses placed the boy onto a stretcher being wheeled by a Chancey and they take him into the operating room. Brendan takes a seat in the waiting room and waits for any updates from the nurses.

After twenty minutes had gone by he sees the main doors open and a sees a pokeball roll from around the corner. He was puzzled at first, but then realized that he had completely forgotten about Torchic and the pokeball the boy left behind.

"Oh my god! Torchic are you okay!?" Torchic is completely drenched in sweat and is panting heavilly. "Thank you so much Torchic! I'm so sorry I was just so worried for that boy that I had completely forgotten about his pokeball. That was my bad." Torchic just looked at him and jumped up into the next available seat for a well deserved nap. Brendan had a little while to think about things, he thought about all of the possible reasons for what could have happened to him, why it happened to him, but the biggest question in his mind was quite simply; why does he care so much? Brendan knew that his condition wasn't deadly or critical, but he was still worried beyond belief and felt an obligation to see to his safety. This boy had had just met, he could have just as easily dropped him off at the hospital and carry on his journey. His responsibility in the matter ended a long time ago, yet here he still is. He thought about it and had a vague idea but opted to not get to wrapped up in the details and just wait for the nurses.

After 30 minutes the nurses finally walk into the waiting room with news.

"Any update?"

"Yes, you can stop worrying now because he's gonna be just fine. He was scratched up pretty good and has some pretty deep bruising, but beyond being roughed up he's gonna be just fine." Brendan gave a massive sigh of relief, he was so beyond worried that he himself started feeling sick.

"Is he conscious right now?"

"Not right now, he's taking a nap for the time being, but the time is only 10:45 so we'll still be open all day if you want to visit him when he's awake. We can let you know when he's ready to see you if you'd like?"

"Yes please I'd appreciate that very much. Can I give the hospital my pokegear number for them to just call?"

"Yes, you can speak to his lady at reception for that."

"Alrighty, thank you so much for your hard work. I appreciate it."

"Absolutely, have a great rest of your day!"

With that the nurse walked back to go tend to other patients. Brendan was unsure what to do for the time being but he just knew he wanted to be out of the hospital. So he walked out checked out the sights and explored Petalburg City for a bit. He decided to tell his father about the incident and all of the details. After talking on the phone with his father for about 45 minutes Brendan finally hung up and went for a walk with Torchic. About 20 minutes after that Brendan gets a phone call from the hopsital.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this a Mr. Brendan Birch?"

"Yes, this is he."

"Hello Mr. Birch, he just now woke up from a nap and is now feeling up for visitors would you like for us to let him know that you're coming?"

"Uh, yes please, I'll be over in a few minutes."

"Very well, bye bye now Mr. Birch." *Beep*

The time is 11:50 am, Brendan rushed over to the hospital as fast as he could, he couldn't wait to see him and figure out the whole story behind everything. For some reason he felt nervous and a tiny bit afraid. He didn't know why, but he felt something different that he couldn't really put his finger on. He makes it to the hospital and checks back in at reception and gets the room number for the myster patient. He takes the elevator up to his room and exits the elevator into the main hallway.

"Alrighty, room 432, 432...ummm, that is...there!" He find the room number and gathers his composure. He fixes his shirt and pants, fixes his hair and makes sure it isn't too ruffled where his white hat is. He knocks on the door takes a long deep breathe and is finally ready to meet the man he saved. The nurse greets him and tells Brendan to walk right on inside. He walks into the room, he hears the beep of the iv machine and sees white curtains blocking the bed. The tv was on playing the news, the windows are wide open filling the room with natural light. At that point the nurse finally went up to the curtain and pulled it back revealing to Brendan the boy he just rescued. Brendan immediately felt something different that he's never felt before. He looks at him and his jet black hair and bright blue eyes. His very soft skin glistened in the sunlight making his complexion very bright and warm. Brendan is at a complete loss for words as he is completely in awe. He has never seen felt anything quite like what he is feeling, he feels the butterflies floating about in his entire body, he feels light yet grounded, nervous yet comfortable, afraid yet at peace. Nobody has ever made him feel like that before, and Brendan doesn't know exactly how to react to it. Yet, a nervous smile comes both of their faces as they gaze in each other's eyes. Green Emerald eyes on Bright Blue eyes, it is currently 12:00 PM on June 21st; it is officially the Summer Soulstice.


	5. Chapter 5: Elation

**Chapter 5: Elation**

 _"Occurrit illi_

 _in auspicatissmum_

 _ad solstitium."_

Brendan stood before the person that he had just helped get to the hospital after finding him injured along route 102. After being checked out and properly looked at by medical professionals the boy was doing just fine and just woke up from a nap to find the person who rescued standing before him. Brendan is feeling something very unique that he hasn't ever felt for another person. He looked into his eyes and was captivated by them, the bright blue shined with the outside light. His skin looked so fair and bright despite a few scratch marks from what looked like a Pokemon of some kind. Brendan's heart was beating exponentially faster the longer he stood there and looked at him. Brendan was usually very good in social situations or meeting new people; he was completely at a loss for words. Until the nurse finally broke the ice,

"I'm just going to leave you guys alone to talk for a while, if you need me then just press the button on the side of the bed!" The mystery boy smiled and nodded at the nurse as he walked out of the room and closed the door shut on the two. There they were, all alone together to talk for the first time. They both awkwardly smiled and chuckled at the rather unusual atmosphere in the room until finally; he spoke.

"Hey there..." He sheepishly said to Brendan.

"uh, he-hey!" He stutters and thinks of what to say next. "Ca-can I sit down beside you?"

"Oh! Yeah yeah of course!" His voice was so tender and sweet, Brendan felt so at ease listening to his voice which was smooth like honey and complemented his soft and sheepish complexion. Brendan made his way over to the recliner that is next to the bed and gently sat down next to him. Brendan tried his best to make sure that the conversation was smooth and kept going.

"So how are you feeling?"

"I feel a lot better now, they gave me some pain meds and applied some ointment to my wounds. On top of getting a much needed nap I feel so much better. Aghhh, so rude of me! I never actually properly thanked you for helping me! I'm so so so sorry about that!"

"No no no no no no! Don't apologize! I'm glad I could've helped you! I would've wanted someone to do that for me so don't worry about it!" Brendan noticed in a mirror beside the bed that he was blushing big time while talking to this boy. Which reminded him of something very important.

"Oh my god, I'M sorry! I never even asked for your name!"

"Oh yeah, haha silly! It's Sol!"

"Sol?"

"Yeah, Sol!"

"I've never heard that name before! Is that a different language?"

"Yeah, that's what my mother said at least. She told me that it mean's 'Sun' in a dialect from a civilization from long ago. She said that the language these people spoke was called Spanish. And that the word 'Sun' was spelled as 'Sol'. But my grandpa tells me that it's actually from a civilization in a different universe."

"Wait, a different universe? He really said that?"

"Yeah he did, he says that he is in contact with a long lost race of people called the Draconids and that they know all about the most complex and perplexing parts of our world and the flaws in our perception of reality itself. He says that there are worlds right alongside our own that are just like ours but slightly different, and that there are ones radically different from ours as well. But he is old after all."

"You do have a point there though, man, imagine if that was true though."

"That would be pretty crazy, but so is my grandpa so take it with a grain of salt. Haha!"

"Okay I will haha. So 'Sol' it is then. That's a really beautiful uhhh-I me-mean uh-uhh cool uh name!" Brendan was desperately trying not to sound creepy to this guy he just met after all.

"Hehe you're really a funny guy! I've never met someone who can make me laugh at things! Glad that we got to meet!" To this, Brendan's cheeks immediately turned a bright red blush and his palms began sweating. He's complimenting me! Ahhh what do I do?! - Brendan thought to himself. His mind was going a million miles a minute. At this point Brendan is starting to get a pretty good idea of why it is he feels the way he does. From the moment that they locked eyes to the delightful conversation, he knew that this boy was different, and Brendan wanted to know more.

"So, I guess my biggest question is how the hell did you end up like that anyway? Were you attacked?"

"Yeah I was, I was walking along route 102 with my Rockruff..." Sol immediately had a look of immense panic on his face and nearly jumped out of the bed. "DID YOU GET ROCKRUFF!" His side began to ache heavily from Sol's loud shouting and sudden movement.

"Yes yes I did! Don't worry about it he's here and he's fine. I made sure to pick him up when I carried you over here."

"Oh thank god. Thank you again. Man, I was about to lose it."

"Um, ABOUT to?"

"Hahahaha you're right about that I already basically leaped out of the damn bed."

"Yeahhh maybe you should lie back down." Brendan eased Sol back into the bed and onto his back. "So you got attacked?"

"Oh oh yeah! I was walking with Rockruff when all of a sudden a group of people in red hoodies ganged up on me with a bunch of pokemon, I dont know what they were but the were really strong! The ringleader of the gang told me to fork over my Pokemon and I obviously said no to them. So one of them ordered their pokemon to fight Rockruff, but I never used Rockruff to battle, his always just been a friend of mine that I traveled with. I never really battle unless I am confronted by a wild pokemon, so Rockruff is very bad at battle. The gang easily beat him so they decided that they didn't even want to bother with a weak Pokemon. So they ordered their Pokemon to beat me up for wasting their time, and so here I am today in the hospital."

"Wow, those people are so awful. I can't believe that they'd do that to somebody for no reason other than to steal people's companion's." Brendan was absolutely horrified and disgusted with hearing that, regardless of whether he knows the person or not, nobody deserves to get ganged up on like that. "Well I'm so glad that I found you then, you could've been hurt even worse by wild pokemon! "

"Yeah thank God you came along when you did. I would've been in a lotta trouble." Sol looks into Brendan's eyes once again with a glimmer and sparkle, Brendan could stare into his eyes forever.

"Well, I really am glad I helped you out! It sucks that we met under these circumstances, but I'm umm..." Brendan drew blanks, did he want to be that direct? Should he not say it at all? What will he do? He decided to just outright say what he felt. "I'm really glad that I got to make someone as amazing as you!"

Brendan finally drew the courage to outright say what he was thinking on the inside. He instantly regretted it and wishes he never said it. He thought to himself, _"I'm so stupid! He's gonna think I'm so weird! Ugh, why did I do that!?"_ He cursed himself for being so blunt, he was prepared for the absolute worst case scenario at that point.

"I'm so glad I got to meet someone like you too! I gotta say, I like ya so far!" He said with a grin stretching across his whole face. Brendan's heart grew warm and full hearing Sol say those words to him. To hear him validate his feelings and to reciprocate them was made him so unbelievably jubilant.

"Uhh, th-thank you. Uhh, u-uh Sol!? Hehe uh." Brendan was completely flustered and nervous beyond belief, any chance of being smooth went completely out the window.

"Well anyways I'm so glad that you stopped by to talk to me!"

"Yeah absolutely! I am glad I made the time."

"Okay well, I'm gonna grab some more shut eye then, I am still really exhausted."

"Yeah, I gotcha..." Brendan wanted to ask for his number or a way to talk to him later on but he couldn't muster the words.

"Could you please close the curtain on the way out?"

"Uh, yeah, of course..." Brendan stood there completely frozen, his body was stuck. He couldn't even think straight, he couldn't get the words to come out. He started panicking, he felt like everything was closing in on him, so much pressure, just ask him. But finally, he realized that he didn't have the courage to do it. So he gave up, knowing that by walking out of that room that he risked losing this boy forever. He turned his back on Sol as he closed the curtain and exited the room. He ran out of the room with tears falling down like a rapid stream. His face is red, he is sniffling and crying, his knees are weak and he is in near hysteria. He just turned his back on the only person who had ever made him feel like he was complete while he was around him. He just turned his back on somebody who genuinely cares about him and isn't a direct family member. He turned his back on what he finally realized what Sol was to him; his very first love.

Brendan walked outside of the hospital and layed down beside a tree about one block away from the hospital. He laid there and cried, and cried some more. He was absolutely devastated by himself, he couldn't believe what he had just done. He sat there for a good long while trying to think about things again. Why is he so distraught, after all they both literally just met. Sol doesn't owe it to him to be together with him after all. He may have really helped him out in a pinch, but most people would do that for one another so that's not really a justification. Brendan tried to rationalize it the best he could, but it the end the heartache wouldn't go away.

Brendan ended up sitting at the tree for about three hours, after thinking about the whole situation for a while and taking a nap with Torchic. He was finally in a place to get up and dust himself off. He got up and accepted the fact that he won't see him again. His heart was still heavy and hurting from the harsh realization he had come to. He picked up his bag and gathered all of his belongings. He took one last look at the hospital and began to march onward into the Petalburg Woods. Until he feels someone grab his hand and pulls him.

Time began to move in slow motion as Brendan feels something latch onto his hand. He turns around and sees long black hair and bright blue eyes staring back at him with tears in his eyes. After being pulled by the hand Brendan finds himself being embraced by the arms of none other than Sol. Brendan wants to cry again, but instead takes this beautiful moment and opportunity and hugs Sol right back just as hard. The two boys stood there in the middle of Petalburg in each other's embrace. Brendan's entire body is warm and fuzzy with a pure sense of absolute euphoria and elation. Nothing could make this moment any better. Being wrapped up in his arms gave him a sense of security and comfort that nobody else was ever able to give him. He wouldn't have things any other way at this point.

The two finally separate and Brendan asks the obvious question.

"Sol! What are you doing here?! I thought you were injured?!"

"I am," he replies, "but my injuries aren't as severe as I thought. I am also on like 50 different meds right now so I'm ok hehe." He says with a cutsie expression on his face. "Also, even if I wasn't cleared, did you really think I was gonna let you go without talking to me again? It would've taken a horse tranquilizer to keep me from talking to you again."

"But how did you even find me? I didn't tell the receptionist where I'd be or anything."

"Rockruff has a keen sense of smell Brendan, it wasn't that hard. I let Rockruff smell my shirt that you put your sweaty hands on to help me settle back into bed."

"Man, you really have an impeccable sense of timing, I was just about to leave Petalburg City."

"You got room for a plus one?"

Brendan stood there quite for a moment. Brendan just thought that Sol wanted to just stay in touch or to just talk one last time. He didn't expect in a thousand years that Sol would want to tag along with Brendan on his journey. He hesitated at first out of pure shock, but then Brendan finally mustered the courage to say something.

"Go with me, on my journey?"

"Yes of course. You are the best thing that's happened to me ever since I got on this island." This is much to Brendan's surprise.

"What about your parents? Aren't they worried?"

"I don't really talk about them too much if I don't have to. Long story short they ain't in the picture at the moment. Don't worry about them!"

"You don't have siblings to look after?"

"Only child."

"You're sure you want to spend it with me? A dopey clumsy idiot you just met?" _IDIOT._ He thought to himself. _WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO DETER HIM!?_

 _"_ I've never been more certain of anything in my entire life." Sol boldly stated with a few tears in his eyes. "You're the only person who's been able to take away the frowns from my face. The only one to make me feel important and special. The only one who's cared this much about me. Everyone else is gone Brendan, but you're here. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than with you!" Sol has tears streaming down his faces. Brendan is completely frozen, out of admiration and confusion. He is unsure how to react to all of this. Brendan struggles to find words, but manages to pull out a sentence.

"Wow,uh-uhh Sol. Um, I didn't know th-that uhh. You f-felt that way about m-m-me." Brendan pauses for a brief moment. "I'm so sorry that I didn't even give you my number, I was about t-to w-walk out of your life without th-thinking about you. I was selfish." Brendan begins to tear up and his voice begins to crack. "I-I'm just so sorry that I was ab-about to h-hu-hurt you like that. Someone li-like me doesn't deserve somebody as amazing as y-" Brendan's entire world pauses as he feels the warm sensation of Sol's lips on his own.

The two stand there in the middle of the city locking lip with lip in a passionate exchange between two beautiful losers who never saw their happiness in sight until now. To Brendan it felt like both time and space slowed down and bent for this kiss. Nothing else in the entirety of this world mattered except the dark-haired boy his lips were entangled with. Everything felt so right, moving his hand through his luscious black hair, Sol's hand gently caressing the side of his head, and the way that they shared the same breathe in this perfect moment between two newfound lovers. It felt like his entire world had shrunk down and focused onto one beautiful thing, but simultaneously expanded in ways he would've never thought possible. The two stood there in a passionate kiss that felt like an eternity well spent, but lasted in reality only about 20 seconds. The two finally end up pulling away and they stand there looking each other in the eyes. Green Emerald eyes and Bright Blue eyes; it is 3:30 PM, love between the two is at the highest point, it is officially the Emerald Solstice.


	6. Chapter 6: Reveal

**Chapter 6: Reveal**

 _"Cunctis diebus_

 _hic amor est inter nos_

 _nucn contentus sum."_

Brendan and Sol stood there by the tree in Petalburg City looking into each others eyes after a passionate exchange of heartfelt emotion and desire. Brendan's very first kiss, with the very first person he had ever fallen in love with, just after he thought that he'd lost him forever. Brendan was on cloud nine and absolutely nothing could bring down his mood. The two needed no words for each other as they simply looked into each others eyes and felt the warmth of each others hands being entangled within each other. Until finally Brendan broke the silence.

"I guess you're gonna be coming with me!" He chuckled with a massive grin stretching across his face.

"I would guess you're right!" Sol reciprocated with a grin of his own.

"But Sol, what are you gonna do? I'm currently training to beat the gyms, don't you have any other aspirations or challenges of your own?"

"Well, no, not exactly. You see, I'm not even from this place. I actually came all the way here from the Alola region."

"Alola? " Brendan had never heard of the foreign place that Sol had just mentioned. The two finally separated so that Sol could properly explain everything to him.

"Yeah, it's a region composed of four main islands and it has an island challenge where you face trials that feature various sets of challenges and tasks. Once you complete that then you face a totem pokemon, which is the main boss for the trial. Once you complete all trials on the island you're on then you face the Kahuna in the Grand Trial."

"Kahuna? Is a Kahuna like a Champion?"

"For each individual island yes, but not for all of the islands. We don't have a Pokemon League, yet at least. Our pokemon professor said that he was building one and that it'll take a few more months to construct."

"Oh okay, well that island challenge sure sounds fun!"

"Yeah I guess so, I just couldn't stand the place anymore."

"Really? It seems like such an awesome place!"

"Well, for me it was far from it..." Brendan saw Sol visibly disturbed for the first time since talking to him. Sol looked downwards at the ground and remained silent for a moment. Brendan felt awful for bringing it up.

"Sol, I'm sorry if I ended up hurting you back bringing that up. I didn't that it brought you bad memories, I really am so-"

"That's ok Brendan, t's alright." Sol paused for a brief moment to gather himself. "I'm sorry I'm projecting those bad memories onto you and bringing you down. I'll just go ahead and explain the situation to you. You're gonna wanna sit down." So Brendan complied and the two sat down beside the tree in preparation for a long and in depth conversation. Sol took a deep breathe and began to speak.

"What I'm about to tell you is something I don't tell anyone else, mainly because nobody ever wants to talk to me for very long over here. But even if they asked me, I wouldn't tell them, it's very personal to me. From the moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew I could trust you." Sol took Brendan's hand, interlocked their fingers and firmly gripped his hand. "I feel very strongly for you and care about you. I know that you will respect me and respect what I'm about to tell you." Brendan looked at Sol with a very concerned expression. What was it that hurt Sol so badly that he feels the need to close himself off to the rest of the world? "Okay, now that I have that out of the way, here's what happened and how I ended up here." Sol paused and looked at Brendan's hand grasping his own and he let out a small chuckle at the sight of it. "Alrighty, here goes."

"I was born to a single mother in the Kanto region, my father was a very powerful trainer and was on the verge of challenging the pokemon league and believed that he had what it took to beat them. So he didn't want to be held back by a family, and so when he found out my mother was pregnant with me, he went and left us." Brendan's expression turned from one of confusion and worry, to one of gloominess and a bit of anger since somebody could do something to hurt Sol like that. "Once he left us in the Kanto Region to challenge the Pokemon League my mother moved out of our house in Viridian City and moved to an apartment in Saffron City. We spent many years of our lives there until I was 12, then we ended up moving to the Alola region. This is where things really got out of hand. My dad was very successful and made a very substantial amount of money as a trainer. All those years he made his child support payments, though I'm sure it was just to avoid legal problems. But regardless, when we moved to Alola the checks stopped coming in. My mother was already struggling and trying to find a job and resorted to doing jobs for a criminal organization called Team Skull. They'd pay for to do petty theft in certain areas of town for some cash on the side. This went on for a few more years until I was finally 14 years old until Guzma, the Boss of Team Skull was pleased with her work enough to offer her to be in Team Skull as an admin. By that point she had already turned abusive to me both physically and emotionally. She would hit me out of frustration, not talk to me, not make me any food knowing that I had no money to buy food and didn't know how to cook, took away any toys or video games away from me for no reason, etc. I was as miserable as I could be and then Guzma came along and took away any chance of her turning back to the way she was. She got involved in very serious crime, and it finally got so bad that shegot drunk and broke a bottle with which she chased me around the house with until I finally decided to run away and never come back. The last word's I ever heard from her were so slurred and intelligible that I didn't even know what she said. And hopefully that will remain as the last words I hear from her. So, after that whole ordeal I sprinted over to Professor Kukui's house as fast as possible and told him about everything. He decided to let me stay in his house for about a week until he could figure out a way to ensure that I was safe. And so I stayed there at his home while Kukui did his best to help me out. That's when I met Rockruff, he originally belonged to the Professor, but he decided to let him go with me because of how attached we got while I stayed there. He finally figured out a way for me to get completely away from my mother and from Team Skull all together. He purchased a ferry ticket to Slateport City in the Hoenn region. He figured that from there I could take another ferry to Petalburg City and make my way to Littleroot Town and get help with establishing myself in this region with Professor Birch. But on the way to Littleroot I ended up getting mugged by the thugs in the red hoods, and now here we are today."

Brendan by that point was completely in shock at all of what Sol had to say to him, both of the boys bore a look of distress and sadness. It was a tragic backstory that didn't befit someone with a disposition as cheery and good-natured as Sol's.

"To be perfectly honest with you Brendan...Tears began to well up in Sol's eyes. "The only reason I was able to smile that day was because of the fact that there was someone I never met who was willing to talk to me out of their own accord. I knew the Professor for years at that point, I knew he would help anyone who came across him. But you, you didn't even have to stop walking for me. You could've just as easily just kept on walking through Route 102 and continued your journey. But you valued me over everything else, and even once you had brought me to the hospital, with so much of the world to explore you stayed in a hospital waiting room waiting to hear about someone you had never met. You waited even longer just so that you could talk to me. I couldn't even get that form my own mother, yet here was a complete stranger who was willing to do all that. How could I NOT crack a smile at that?!" Sol is bawling and sniffling trying to get the words out of his mouth. "Y-you are th-th-the reason I am still able t-t-to stand! I'm a complete mess, y-yet you tr-tre-treat me like royalty!" Sol, then tried his best to collect himself for what he was about to say. "You're why I'm still here right now, after I had finally woken up and was told what had happened to me, I was fully prepared to do something very drastic. Long story short, at that point I was ready to end it all."

Brendan looked up Sol, who had suddenly gone from sullen and hysterical to numb and a bit cold. He had a blank expression of his face, one that spoke miles to the internal pain and despair that he had gone through to reach the tipping point. Brendan couldn't handle this anymore, he had finally broken down. He fell onto Sol's lap and was in absolute hysteria. To this Sol broke down in a similar fashion, clutching Brendan firmly like a toddler clutches a blanket, to feel warmth and security. The two lay there by the tree crying and holding each other as they release their emotions and cleanse themselves of whatever depression lays in their souls. They lay there in each other's embrace as they finally begin to feel more and more at ease. The tears begin to dry up and they start to relax into their embrace more and more. Until Brendan finally speaks.

"I'm so sorry Sol, I could've never imagined that you had went through all that. What I'm truly sorry for is that I could't have been there with you."

"That's not you fault in the slightest Brendan."

"I know, but still it hurts so badly knowing that you went though all of that alone."

"I can't change what's in the past, all we can do is move forward to the future. At least now I can look forward towards the future with you Bren." Sol said with a smile.

"So we're on a pet name basis now?"

"Don't get any weird ideas now!"

"Don't worry, you can't really shorten Sol to much of anything really."

"This much is true." Sol looked down into Brendan's eyes which were glowing a luminous shade of Emerald. The two felt closer together now that everything was layed out on the table. When suddenly Brendan feels something cold graze his neck. He turned around quickly to see what had touched him.

"What the hell was that?"

"What do are you talking about?"

"Don't you feel that?" When he looked at Sol he saw little white dots floating around him much to his surprise. Brendan looked upwards towards the sky in complete shock and awe. "No. Way." It hasn't snowed in over 7 years since a great winter storm rolled through the area, but Brendan remembers how it would snow back in Sinnoh. "Hoenn almost never has snow, it hasn't snowed in years is what my dad told me about the region."

"Neither does Alola, this is amazing! Oh yeah, what does your dad do?"

"OH YEAH, well hehe, my dad's Professor Birch."

"Wait, THE Professor Birch that Kukui sent me here to go find?!" Sol was almost in complete disbelief at what he just heard.

"Yessir that'd be the one."

"So essentially, even if were weren't the one to have found me, we would still have managed to meet each other?!"

"Woah, now that you put it like that you're right. Because knowing my dad, he would absolutely jump at the chance for me to meet another boy my age to travel with. The reason he became a Professor in the first place was to help young people become closer with and understand Pokemon. So this was bound to happen regardless!"

"Man, what are the odds of that happening? That's some insane luck that you, out of all people, would be the one to rescue of me. The son of the man I came all the way here for, is the one that saved me. That has got to be the most insane coincidence ever."

"Or maybe it's a sign." Sol looked at him puzzled. "Maybe we should take this as us being meant to meet. I mean, we already know that we were bound to cross paths. I mean, maybe this could be a sign that we were, umm..." Brendan paused for a second. "Meant to be together?" Sol had a confident and proud look and air about him.

"I think you may be right Bren." He assured him as he lunged forward to lock lips with Brendan. He ran his hands through Brendan's thick yet smooth brown hair and used his other hand to caress his sides. Brendan's lips were entangled with Sol's as the two caressed each other and shared the same breathe. Brendan gently placed his hands on Sol's chest as he allowed the slightly taller boy to take the lead and caress him. Time always seemed to slow down for the couple ever time that they were in each other's grasp. The two molded together like two parts of a puzzle that seemed to fit just right. Like two cogs in a machine that turned and cranked in perfect sync. Any time they were together, everything felt just right, as if the cosmos had ordained them as two strings from the same clothe. It was magical, how great being with Sol felt. He wouldn't have things any other way, it was as if life had gained a new purpose.

The two finally pulled away from each other and Brendan asked Sol.

"So you're 14?" Brendan asked with a coy look on his face

"Yeah, my birthday's in a couple of days though. I think, what's today's date again?" Sol inquired.

"June 21st, the day of the summer solstice." To which Sol replied with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, sounds about right."


End file.
